Guilt
by Jingle101
Summary: After seven years away, Sandy decides it's time to pay a visit to Bikini Bottom. But things aren't the same as they used to be. Now it's up to her to find SpongeBob... if it's not too late.
1. Chapter 1

"_Sandy! Pleeeeaaase don't go!"_

"_SpongeBob, I've told ya'll a million times! My bosses say I have to move. This ain't my decision."_

"_Then quit your job!"_

"_You know dang well I can't do that. Besides, if I did quit, I'd have to move anyways. They're the ones funding this!" _

"_What… what if I said…." Sandy gave a loud frustrated sigh._

"_SpongeBob, those nonsense words didn't work last time, they ain't gonna work this time."_

"_What if I said I loved you?" Sandy quit packing for a moment and stared down at him for the first time. Tears were streaked down his face and his eyes were puffy and blood shot. His bottom lip was slightly cut from where he kept biting it. But he was just a kid. He couldn't be in love with her, it was just a little crush. If she stayed, it would eventually go away anyways, she figured._

"_You don't even care do you? I just told you I love you and you don't even care!"_

"_SpongeBob… I-" He shook his head, cutting her off._

"_Maybe it is better if you just leave!" He screamed. To make his point, he took off his helmet and smashed it against the ground before running out the door and disappearing into Jellyfish Fields. Sandy wanted to run after him, but what was the point? She couldn't just chase him down and tell him she was leaving rather he liked it or not._

Seven years later, Sandy could still remember that day like it had only just happened. At first, she had been happy in Texas. It was nice to have solid ground under her feet instead of sand. And the best part, she didn't have to wear an air suit to go places. But before too long, she started to miss her family in Bikini Bottom. Grumpy ol' Squidward, greedy Mr. Krabs, Pea-brained Patrick, even Plankton! But most of all, she missed sweet little SpongeBob. He was the closest thing to family she had.

Sandy regretted not going to find him. Maybe if she had, she could've kept in touch with him instead of leaving on a sour note. It HAD been seven years already, maybe it was time to pay Bikini Bottom a visit….

* * *

As she waited at the bus station, she looked around at all the pictures. There was a wall that had a picture of each town available to visit. Her eyes automatically went to where she knew Bikini Bottom was. To her surprise, it wasn't there. Her eyes darted all over the wall, but it just wasn't there. A young attendant, that Sandy swore she recognized, walked past her.

"Uh, Miss!?" Sandy called out. "Do you by any chance know what happened to Bikini Bottom?"

The small pink fish swirled around and stared at Sandy for a moment. "Hey, I know you. You're that land squirrel that used to live in a big bubble outside of town.

"I'm sorry… do I know you?"

"Doubt it. My names Suzy, I used to live out in Bikini Bottom before… it… happened. We never talked but I saw you around. You were always hanging with that sponge dude."

"SpongeBob?" Sandy asked as a sideways smile came to her face.

"Yeah, that's the one! Poor little guy. It's a shame what happened to him."

"What do you mean!? Is he alright?" The attendant gave a loud sigh and looked at her watch.

"No one knows." She replied with a slight shrug. "He disappeared about…" she paused to think. "seven years ago? No one's seen him since." Sandy gasped quietly and tried to hide the surprise on her face. "Actually, there was this one rumor going around that some guy had seen him chasing a bus. But it was just a rumor."

"Are… are you sure it was seven years ago… exactly?"

"Oh yeah, it was all over the newspapers. Apparently, he was the fry cook at some restaurant called 'The Krusty Krab'. Once he left, the place was forced out of business and a total riot started in downtown Bikini Bottom. You know, I really don't know what the big deal was. They should've just hired someone else." The girl rolled her eyes as if to say "The ignorance of some people" and glanced back at the wall.

"Oh hey! You wanted to know why the picture wasn't up here." Sandy looked up and nodded.

"Well you see, after all of downtown went crazy, they totally trashed the place! It was sooo not cool. Most of us went our own separate ways. I think a lot of them went down to Rock Bottom. But, I hear that some of the guys closer to that sponge dude stayed around there. Anyways, after pretty much everyone left, there was no need to drive a bus up there anymore. I'd be surprised if there was even still a road heading that way." Sandy nodded.

"Thanks for the help. I guess I'll be on my way."

"No problem, but I gotta warn you. Be careful if you're going up there. No one's been around that place for a couple years as far as I know. Neptune knows what it looks like." With that, she walked away, leaving Sandy alone with nothing but her bags, and her regrets.


	2. Chapter 2

The attendant was right. The road leading up to Bikini Bottom barely existed. Chunks of it lay scattered around, the road itself was nothing but a few stubborn pieces that refused to leave, and lots of weeds working fast to cover them. _It's almost as if they don't want me here. _She thought. But, she shook it off and continued down the path.

Before long, she reached to top of the hill. A little farther and she would be able to see all of Bikini Bottom. But she didn't know if she even wanted to. She stood still for a few moments before finally gathering up the courage to go forward.

When she took that first look, all her strength left her. The bags dropped from her hands, and her mouth fell open. Where there were once buildings, people's homes, there were now large piles of rusted junk. But there was some life. Small creatures, mostly nematodes, were running around the place. They weren't very healthy looking though. Everything was skinny, and over-all, just looked terrible.

"Well, if people stayed down here like… Suzy said. Then, I'll go look at Patrick's place first."

She ran down the path towards Conch Street. Surprisingly, there actually was a small path leading down there. Used enough to leave a mark, but not enough to make it obvious. It looked about the same as the rest of the town, except for the houses. They were well enough kept that… maybe someone was still living here. The first place she looked was SpongeBob's house. She walked slowly up the steps leading to his house, took a deep breath, and knocked loud.

"Sandy? Is… is that you?" Her head spun around hoping to see SpongeBob. But no, it was Patrick. Still, the fact that this place wasn't completely abandoned gave her hope.

"Hi, Patrick. Long time, no see." She faked a smile.

"I'll say! It's been seven years Sandy. What brings you here now?" There was something different about him. He looked… more mature. And he didn't talk like an idiot but used a knowledgeable accent and proper words.

"I, uh…." Sandy turned her head back towards SpongeBob's house and could feel the blush spreading across her cheeks. When she turned back, Patrick was shaking his head.

"You broke his heart, you know." She bit her bottom lip to keep from tearing up, and looked away. "I haven't seen him since the day you left town."

"Did… anyone else stay here?" She asked, trying to change the subject. Patrick was silent for a moment. He wasn't easily fooled. Not anymore.

"Just me and Gary. Mr. Krabs was… put in a hospital about a year or two ago. Heart attack. That's the last time I saw him. Squidward comes around every now and then to "check up on his house". He misses him, just won't admit it."

"Doesn't it get lonesome? Living out here by yourself?"

"Me and Gary stick together."

Hearing his name, Gary crawled out from behind the large Easter Island head.

"Meow?" He lifted his head and sniffed around. That's when Sandy noticed the filmy white surface covering his eyes. Poor old Gary, was blind.

* * *

"So, are you with me?"

"Ok, let me get this straight. You want us to search under every single rock in this area, to see if we can find SpongeBob? Don't you have a better plan than that? I mean, come on. You used to be a scientist! Make something!"

"I didn't "used to be a scientist" I AM a scientist." Patrick rolled his eyes.

"Besides, don't you think I've tried looking for him? Gary wore his eyes out looking for him!"

"Can you please just focus!?"

"I AM focusing! You need a new tactic!"

"Since when did you start using words like tactic?"

"Things have changed Sandy! I know you expected to come back after seven years and find everything the same as it used to be. But it's not!"

"I'm just trying to help. No need to get all worked up." She tried to calm him down with a soothing voice. The last thing she needed was for Patrick to refuse to help her. He glared up at her in return.

"He's probably dead for all I know."

"How can you say that? You were his best friend!"

"I WAS his best friend. Until YOU came along."

"What in tar nation are you talking about?"

"Ever since you showed up, it was always "Sandy this" and "Sandy that" and "Oh guess what, me and SANDY are going to practice karate later!"

"Fine! You obviously don't care about him maybe being out there cold, scared, and starving, but I do!" Her face was streaked with red but she couldn't tell if it was from the fact that SpongeBob had always talked about her, or because of Patrick's stubbornness. Or maybe it was because of the anger she had towards herself. She had left the most wonderful life she had ever known and all for what? To go back to Texas, live all alone, and work for a bunch of monkeys who were constantly changing their minds on what her research she be over?

Patrick stayed rooted to the spot. His stubborn face couldn't hold her gaze for more than a second.

"Then I guess I'll be going alone." With one last look at SpongeBob's abandoned pineapple house, she boldly stepped out into the wilderness now surrounding Bikini Bottom. She already had her mind set on her first search location. The Treedome.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a wreck! She could see almost half a mile away, and it was even worse up close! Big chunks of glass lay scattered around where the dome used to be. Parts of the walls were still in contact but looked like just a small breeze could push them over at any second.

The large, proud oak tree was now just a piece of drift wood, firmly planted into the ground. Her exercise wheel, which had been too big to take with her, was only a few rusty pipes laying in the middle of the big brown circle that used to be grass. Nothing had grown over it.

The one thing that caught her eye was the doorway. It was still intact. After all these years, it looked brand new. As she walked up, something pink shone through the slightly algae-covered glass.

She quickly pried the door open and gasped at what she saw. A small bouquet, long wilted, sat propped against the glass. Above it, there was a piece of paper taped to the door. It was old, shriveled, and turning yellow. Afraid to touch it for fear it might fall to pieces; she knelt down and tried to make sense of the sloppy words. It read:

_Dear Sandy,_

_I know you'll never find this, but I needed some closure. It's hard for me to believe that you're really gone. I still don't understand why you left me without even saying good bye. I tried to follow you but, the bus was going so fast, I just couldn't keep up. I hope your research is going well. I remember you said you were going to Texas. And I've made up my mind, I'm coming after you. I did some research at the library late last night and found out that Texas is the biggest state on land. But that doesn't matter. I'm coming to find you Sandy, or I'll die trying._

_Love, SpongeBob S._

A lump was forming in her throat and she realized her face was wet with tears. The letter didn't seem like much to someone who didn't know SpongeBob, but his usual letters _always_ had exclamation marks. It was rare to find a single sentence without them. On this piece of paper, you could almost feel the frustration, anger, and sadness floating off it.

Sandy brushed the paper with her finger tips and jumped in shock as a small wad of paper fell out from behind it. She opened it to find a map of Texas with lines trailed all across it.

"Is this some sort of… treasure map?"

"And you're the jewel." Sandy spun around and jumped into fighting stance within seconds. To her surprise, an old looking squid was standing there.

"Squidward?"

"The one and only."

"What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same. Haven't been around here in a while now have you? You know, it's your fault Sp- …. It's your fault I lost my job. And the whole city is destroyed. Just because you had to run off and break that little annoyance's heart." He placed the ends of his tentacles together in a type of praying position.

Sandy stood strong. She was tired of looking away ashamed when someone blamed this all on her. No one seemed to understand that she had lost something too. Sandy felt bad for all this, many people had lost their home. But she had lost so much more than that. She had lost her best friend, her family, and someone who loved her. And, no matter how much she tried to push past it, someone she had loved too.

She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close to her helmet.

"I have had enough of this crap! SpongeBob left, because I left. I know that. Now, are you here to help me, or are you gonna stand in my way of finding him?" Squidward tried to claw his way out of her grip but it was impossible. She had always been the strongest creature in Bikini Bottom. Even stronger than that show-off lifeguard. When he didn't answer, only glared, she dropped him. He fell to the sand below and clutched his back.

Sandy's heart dropped. This reminded her of just how long it had been since she left Bikini Bottom. Seven long years. It had been a while since she was able to look at herself in a mirror without remembering that terrible day. As she watched Squidward slowly stand up, she wondered how much she herself had aged. But there was no time to waste with vanity, she had a sponge to find. She quickly grabbed the note and map before heading back to the pineapple for her bags. The sun was setting as the cold, hard truth hit her. _I'm coming to find you Sandy, or I'll die trying. _What if he had kept his word?


	4. Chapter 4

The ride home had been much more exhilarating than the one to Bikini Bottom. Her plans were to stop by her small tree home and drop off her luggage first, and then… she didn't know. She had her little map, but it was just a bunch of poorly drawn lines and Xs. She hit her head against the bus seat in front of her causing the round male sponge sitting there to jump and turn around to glare.

As they both recognized each other, their hearts skipped a beat.

"Mr.… SquarePants?"

"Sandy Cheeks?" Her spat out her name with disgust. "What are you doing here? Trying to cause more trouble no doubt?" Sandy blushed slightly and tried to explain what she was doing, but no sound could come out.

"Yeah, you _should_ be ashamed. I lost my son because of you. You ungrateful bit-"

"I'm trying to find him! Something none of you ever even thought about! I imagine ya'll just thought he would come back eventually and ignored it!" She was yelling loud, and everyone had stopped their own conversations to watch the fight. But she didn't care. She had been about to explode ever since her visit with Patrick. Squidward only fed the flame, and SpongeBob's dad finally set her off. It was someone else's turn to be blamed for everything.

Mr. SquarePants's face turned red with embarrassment at being watched, and anger for the squirrel sitting right behind him. He hated to admit that she was right though. They had all expected him to come back any day, as bright as normal. No one ever dreamed of the effect Sandy's leaving would have on him. After all, he was just a kid. Too young to fall so deeply in love, too naive to disappear… so they thought.

He looked at Sandy's face. Lightning flashed in her eyes, even as tears fell from them. His own anger reflected in the glare she was giving him, but there was strong sadness in it too. Looking past the hatred coated in her expression, he could see why his son had fallen so helplessly in love with her. She was beautiful, even after all these years. Her whiskers shone silver, signs of her aging with grief. Other than that, she could've easily passed for a girl much younger than her age.

As the expression in his face started to soften, hers did too. The ones that had been watching soon lost their interest and turned back around. All Sandy wanted to do was get home, collapse on the bed, and wake up from this nightmare.

"We all made a huge mistake," He finally replied. "So let's not blame all of this on one person." Sandy nodded in agreement, but refused to look at him. There was a couple moments of silence before he spoke again.

"You know, he used to talk about you all the time." Sandy tried to smile, but she was so preoccupied about what to do when she got home, she barely heard a thing. After realizing he couldn't get a response, he turned around in his chair with a loud sigh.

Sandy checked her clock. Two hours until they would reach her stop. She frowned and looked out the window. The last thing she saw before she slipped into a deep sleep, was a small pink flower, surrounded by weeds and trying to push its way up towards the sunlight.

"_SpongeBob? Is it really you?" Sandy was standing in front of a large cave. Something was moving inside, but it was too dark to see what._

"_It is Sandy, I've been waiting for you for seven years. Haven't you heard me calling?" The deep voice rang out of the cave with huge force, but it was filled with compassion. A confusing combination. _

"_Yes, and I wanted to come, but we both know that I couldn't!" Seconds of silence past, but they seemed like hours. "Will you please come out?"_

"_Why should I? You never came out of hiding for me!"_

"_I never knew you were looking!" _

"_But you heard me calling?"_

"_Yes but, you have to understand!"_

"_I told you I loved you, and you left me to die. Is that what you call understanding?"_

"_That's not fair!"_

"_Neither is what you did to me." A tear ran down her cheek._

"_Can you forgive me?"_

"_Only if you forgive yourself." His voice was fading. _

"_Wait! Don't leave me! Is there any way I can find you?"_

"_You'll find me Sandy! I know you will!" His voice was more childlike, the way she remembered him. But it was also barely a whisper anymore. He was leaving her alone, in this cold, strange place._

"_Where!? Please tell me!"_

"_Follow the stones." Sandy had to crane her neck forward to hear him._

"_What stones? Please SpongeBob! I wanna help you!"_

"_Follow the stones." He repeated before disappearing all together. _

"_No!" Sandy screamed in despair. Her voice echoed back. She ran to the edge of the cave and looked around. Nothing. She plunged into the darkness only to find herself falling into a deep pit. She could see the bottom, and something yellow laid stretched across it. As quickly as the falling had started, it stopped. Now, she was suspended in the air, several feet from the bottom of the dark pit… and SpongeBob. His breathing was slow, and his limbs were spread in different, sharp angles. They didn't look right. A small trickle of water ran underneath him, no doubt it was the only thing keeping him alive. His bright blue eyes flickered open and stared straight through her. Although his lips didn't move, his voice sounded out one last time through the cave._

"_I know you'll find me Sandy! Just follow the stones! Time is running out…"_

She woke with a start and gasped. Sweat poured down her face as she tried to calm down. The bus was almost empty. Mr. SquarePants was gone, and only the driver, and two other fish remained. She checked her watch again. Ten more minutes. A shiver ran down her spine. _Does SpongeBob even have that long?_


	5. Chapter 5

Sandy flung the door open and dropped her bags. The long flight to Texas had been unbearable. Every time she fell asleep, she would hear SpongeBob's voice saying "follow the stones, time is running out." Every time she woke up, the same thing flowed in and out of her thoughts non-stop.

She needed some fresh air after all the events that had taken place. In just two days, her life had been turned upside down.

The beautiful spring air swirled around Sandy as she stepped out into the cool grass. There was still dew on everything; it was only seven in the morning. She looked around at landscape, trying to decide where to go. She had already explored everywhere within a mile or two of her home.

_Follow the stones._ Her thoughts buzzed again. There WAS one rocky place close to her house. Without even thinking about it, her feet began to move towards the small hills behind her tree house.

* * *

Standing on the cliff, she could see everything for miles. The trees way out in the distance were beautiful, but she was starting to miss the coral branch trees in Bikini Bottom even more than the first time she left.

The fresh air was doing nothing to help her concentrate on the real problem though. SpongeBob was close, she could feel it, but how was she supposed to find him when all he left as a hint was "follow the stones"? And she didn't even know if it was a real hint, or just a dream. The scientific part of her mind kept saying it was just a bad dream, but the rest of her wanted it to be true sooo badly.

Sandy sat down with a heavy sigh and let her feet dangle over the edge. She needed to think logically, that was best for her. Seven years had passed, there was no way she was going to find him. Sure he had drawn a map and made a note saying he was going to find her, but he was just being naïve, like always. He probably wandered around and got lost, or maybe it was amnesia again. She smiled as she the memories of that day flooded back into her mind. She had cried like a baby in front of everyone when she thought he was gone for good. And she couldn't even begin to explain the relief she felt when they found him. There was one scene that kept playing over and over in her mind.

"_It's great to have you back Spongy!"_

"_It's great to be back Sandy!"_

Sandy didn't know what it was about that one moment, but it always made her smile.

She was so caught up in her thoughts, she didn't hear the small crackling beneath her. Suddenly, the ground under her gave a great lurch and Sandy was caught in the rock slide. She slide down the small cliff, trying to grab the sides, but getting pummeled with rocks. It was a short drop though, nothing that could seriously injure her. When everything came to a stop, she stood up with nothing but minor bruises and scratches.

As she stood there in shock, a small, round, stone hit her on the arm, and rolled several feet in front of her. She watched in roll until it came to a complete stop. Looking up, she noticed the entrance of a small cave. It was hidden behind a large bramble bush. Her heart raced as she pushed away the cover and immediately recognized the scene. It was the same as from her dream….

She lifted the small pebble by her foot and smiled as his words filled her head again.

"_Follow the stones"_

"So this is what he meant…."

With sudden urgency, she scrambled to the entrance and tried to see into the absolute darkness. She knew better than to run inside. She found a large stick and poked around inside until she could feel the drop. It was only about two feet into the darkness. She felt stupid just staring at the cave, so she poked her head inside to try and adjust her eyes. After a moment or two, she could see the edge of the drop. A shudder went down her spine.

"SpongeBob!?" She yelled. Her voice echoed on the cold, hard stone surrounding her. A full minute passed and nothing happened. Then, from deep down, a faint sound called out.

"Sandy?"


	6. Chapter 6

She had been standing there for almost ten minutes before she finally felt a sharp yank on the rope.

"Are you ready?" No answer. She began hoisting him up from the pit. He was a lot lighter than she imagined but then again, who knows how long he had been done there. She struggled to lift him with hitting him against the sides. Finally, after what seemed like forever, her first sign of life.

One of SpongeBob's little, yellow hands came up and grabbed the sides of his trap. Sandy quickly tied up the rope to a small tree next to her and ran for the pit. She grabbed his arm, shuddering at how dry and cold it was, and pulled him up, toppling backwards with him in her arms.

"SpongeBob! I'm so glad you're alive!"

The little sponge she held in her arms was almost the same as how she remembered him. His right tooth was chipped, and his colors were duller but a little sun would fix that right up! He looked up at Sandy with his baby blue eyes and gave her a heart-warming smile. She barely had time to smile back before his whole world blacked out.

* * *

He woke up in the warm water of a bath tub. Looking around, he could tell he was in a tree just like the one Sandy used to live in. That's when he remembered who had just saved his life, and a big smile spread across his lips. He tried to stretch but felt a sharp pain in his left leg. Looking down, he realized it was in a cast. He laid back down and sighed loudly. A brown blur showed above him. It took a moment, but he realized it was Sandy at sat up in the tub.

"Hey SpongeBob, how are you doing?"

"Wonderful." He replied in a small, stuffy whisper.

"Good. I thought you might be hungry so I brought you some…. Why are you smiling at me like that?"

His smile grew even bigger (if that was possible) when she asked him.

"It's been so long but you're still so pretty." Sandy blushed. "And, I've been looking for you for so many years. I can't believe you found me. I thought I was going to die in that cave." Thinking of that week in the cave made him shudder. A single tear fell down his cheek.

"Aw SpongeBob, I'm so sorry I put you through all that. I was a real idiot huh?" SpongeBob nodded his head making them both laugh. "Actually, I had this nightmare about you, and you kept telling me to "follow the stones". That's how I really found you." His eyes opened wide.

"I had the same dream! Except, you were falling down a cliff and you were falling down a cliff and kept saying to "look to light." I thought you meant… the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, until I heard something that sounded like my name, and looked up at the top of that pit, and I saw you with light shimmering all around. For a moment, I thought I was already dead and you were an angel." His eyes twinkled with a strong compassion. Tears were falling down both of their faces now.

Sandy set the tray she was holding aside and knelt down to hug him. They wrapped their arms around each other and just cried for a little while.

"SpongeBob, I seriously screwed up big time. I can't believe I wasted half our lives with one stupid decision. Can you forgive me?"

"I never blamed you Sandy."

"Thank you." He leaned back and stared into her eyes.

"Sandy, do you love me?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good." He brushed a tear off her face and pulled her closer. "I love you too."

They both leaned in to the kiss. Nothing could have spoiled that moment. It was the first time either of them had ever really been that close. No helmets, no air suits, nothing. Just two people completely in love with each other. The years apart didn't matter. They could make it all up.

This close, she could hear his heart beat fluttering. She was sure hers was too. SpongeBob was the first to lean back.

"Sandy… I want to stay here forever. With you."

Sandy stopped to think about Bikini Bottom. Maybe, if he went back, it would eventually be pieced back together. Wasn't it her responsibility to return things to the way they were? But then again, why make another stupid mistake?

"Ok." She smiled and her eyes shone with love for the overly excited sponge in her arms.

"You really mean it!?"

"Of course." She kissed him on the cheek. "I'll never make the mistake of pushing you away again. I swear."

"I don't think I can live without you anymore Sandy."

"Me neither SpongeBob… me neither."


End file.
